Russian Billionaires With Ties to Vladimir Putin Happy Now That Donald Trump is US President

The early quarters of 2016 witnessed the tension between the United States and Russia. There were reports that Russia strengthened its arsenal to be able to counterattack. However, things took a different turn after President-elect Donald Trump won the elections.

Trump’s victory was an unprecedented event. His triumph affected the U.S. as well as the whole world. Investors around the world were shocked with the election results, sending global stock markets plummeting.

Donald Trump hailed as ‘Man of the People’ by Russians

In spite of the backlash, Trump received a likely ally. Russian President Vladimir Putin was reportedly elated with the U.S. election results. BBC reported that Putin did not waste time congratulating Trump. Russian TV channels even hailed Trump as the man of the people.

Consequently, Russians shared Putin’s joy. A Russian woman even tweeted that she wants to drive in their streets with an American flag. Nevertheless, it seems that rich Russians are the ones who will greatly benefit in the bickering that happened during the U.S. elections.

Russian billionaires continue to get rich

According to Forbes, Russian billionaires with close ties with Putin gained over $29 billion. The list of billionaires include people sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2014. The sanction targeted people close to Russia’s leader, an entity involved in the Ukraine crisis.

The sanction listed Gennady Timchenko’s name. Although there is no direct connection, Timchenko’s value rose up to 23 percent, reaching $1.8 billion, when Trump won president. The Russian billionaire’s value is at $15.1 billion and could go up in the next few months.

The rise of the Russian billionaires’ net worth is intertwined to increasing Russian stocks and currency. In October 2016, Bloomberg reported that Russia’s stocks achieved an all-time high. As a result, Russian investors gained more fortune with their investments.

Aside from the monetary aspects, Russia hopes to mend ties with the U.S. in the wake of the tension. Meanwhile, the world’s market waits in suspense on how Trump will handle the economic aspect of his job.